Air-gage device.



e. H. ERICH & D. s. MILNE.

MR GAGE DEVICE.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT-24, I917.

Patented July 23,1918.

* W Attorneys.

Witnesses tirade.

I To all whom it y concern: Be it'known'that we, Greener H. Enron, a

citizen of the United States, residin' at. 7

Minneapolis, countv ot Hennepin, and t of Minnesota, and vm S. MILNE, a citizen of the United States, residin at Fairmont, in the county of Martin and tate of Minnesota, have invented a new and useful Air- "Grage Device, of which the following is a 1W specification. V j a L p The present invention relates generally to air gages and aims to provide. a novel and imfprove'd. device 01? that character for use in in ating' pneumatlc tires. 1

One ob ect of the invention is the provision oi an air gage device constructed and arranged to indicate either the pump or tire pressure at the will of the operator through the provision of novel means for that pur- "tupnsew Another object otf the invention is the provision of novel means for applying the deviceto the valve stem of the tire. Ttis also the object of the invention to 25 provide a gage device having the features g ove noted, which is sim 1e and inexpen- .sive 1n construction, as we as being practi cal and eficient in use.

With the foregoing and other objects in' he viewwhich will appear as the description proceeds, the invention resides 'inthe combination and arrangement of parts and in the details of construction hereinafter described I and claimed, it being understood that it. changes in the precise embodiment of the inveritionherein disclosed can be made within the scope of what is claimed, without. departing from the spirit of the invention.

The invention is-.-illustrated in the acttl companying drawing, wherein- Figure 1 is a median section of the device,

.' portions being shown in elevation.

- Figs. 2 "and 3 are diametrical sections showing modified means'for opening thev h valve of thevalve .stem.

The body of the device comprises the 'nipple 1 and tubular member 2 disposed in parallel lines, and a transverse portion 3 connecting the adjacent ends of said nipple and 50 member which are ofiset relatively to one another. The nipple 1 and member 2 .are

' provided with the respective lon 'tudinal bores or passages 4 and 5 therein, and the portion 3 has a port 6 transversely of the 5 nipple and memberand establishing communication between the adjacent ends of the pastpeelucatlon of letters Patent.

beveled or conical valve 8 is seatable from I nte duly- 3, iar.f

' application a teptember at, an. herlal no. ieaeet.

within the passage t'toward-the passage 5, to provide acheck valve against the flow of air from the nipple to the. member 2, said nipple being deslgned-tor the attacentot 7 ahose or other conductorleading from a pump. Une end of the ortion 3 is provided adjacent to the nipp e 1 with an opening 9-in alinement with and larger than the opening or poi-t6, and a plug 10 is normally threaded in the opening 9 to close the same, a coiled wire expansion spring 11 being c'on-.

fined between the plug 10 and: valve 8 tov normally hold said valve seated. The valve 8 has a lug 12 entering the spring to hold the spring place against the valve,-and the plug lflhas a recess 13 in which'the spring is seated. The plug 10 when removed, permits the valve to be readily inserted and withdrawn.

. The other end of the: portion is provided adjacent to the member 2 with a boss it having the opening 15 inalinement with the port 6, and a plunger 16. is slidable snugly in the opening 15; and is provided at its inner end with a recess ll receiving the end of the stem 18 of the valve 8 which projects through the port b and transversely through-the passage 5. The plunger 16 has a 'rounded head '19 against which a hand lever 20 seats, said lever having one end pivoted, as at 21, to an car 22 integral with the member 2 and boss 14, whereby the hand which grasps the device-around the nipple .1, can readily be used .for swinging the lever 20 toward the nipple, to push the plunger 16, inwardly, thus unseating the valve 8.

The member 2 is provided with means for attachin it to the valve stem. S oi a pneumatic tire, and for this purpose, said member has a portion 23 extendlng at an angle therefrom and provided with a bellshaped member 2a, onto the rim of which is threaded a retaining ring 25 having at its edge an inturned annular flange 26 extending across but spaced from the edge oil the'member 24k to loosely surround the valve stem S. A conical ring or asket 27 of rubber or other resilient flexible material is disposed within the mouth of the member 24, and is provided at its base with an outstanding annular flange 28 clamped against the edge of the member 24L w th the apes of the gasket projecting into said member, and a washer 29 is disposed, between the flange 28 and flange 26 to" space the base of 4 the gasket from said flange 26, therebyper- 5 mittingthe gasket to flex toward and away from the member 24. Thegasket 27 being of conical form, is provided with the thin annularlip 30surrounding it's aperture or V gasket 27 outwardly, said gasket acting in the manner'of a diaphragm', and the ring 29 permits the gasket to bulge outwardly..

This, in addition to the flexibility of the lip 30, will cause the gasket to tightly embrace the valve stem, to prevent leakage. The bulging movement of the gasket, together with the pressure of the lip 30 against the valve'stem, will provide a tight fit, and will also retain thedevice in placeon the valve stem, although the device can be readily fpushed on and pulled oil the valve stem manually. This saves the labor of screwing the, device onto and ofi of the valve stem, and also provides for an air-tight joint in addition to the nick attachment and detachment of the device.

In order 'to open the valve of the valve stem when the device is applied, a stud or member 32 is threaded into the portion 23 and projects within the member 24, saidstud havinga T-shaped or other suitable Y passage 33 therein providing for the flow of air between the members 2 and 24. A]

' plunger 34 is yieldably united withthe end of the stud 32 by means of a coil spring 35, the spring being connected to the stud and to the plunger and is arranged to .contact with and move the pin 36 of the valve stem S, when the device-is applied, to thereby open. the valve of said stem for the flow of air therethrough.

Themember 2 has a branch 37 to which is attached any suitable air gage 38 to indicate the air pressure.

In use, when the device is applied to the 'dicate the tire pressure.

valve stem .8, and the lever 20 moved to open the valve' 8, air .can'flow from the pump into the tire, and the gage 38 will indicate the pump pressure. By releasing the lever, the valve 8 will be seated, thereby shutting off the pump pressure from the gage and tire, and the gage 38 will now in- This enables the operator to inflate the tire-to the desired pressure, and testscanbe made from time to time, by releasing the lever 20 momentarily, so that the right pressure in the tire I can be. obtained accurately.

Fig. 2 illustrates a, modified means for opening the valve of the valve stem. In this case the stud or member 32 has the passage 33 as above described, a recess 32 in its free end portion slidably. receiving Pa plunger 34, and a coil sprin 35 being housed within the recess 32 an surrounding the reduced end of the plunger, whereas the spring 35 above describedis exposed.

Fig. 3 illustrates the lunger 34 iiite ral with the end ofthe stud 32*" so that it oes not yield as do the plungers 34 and 34 above described- Having thus described the invention, what is claimed is A device of the class, described, comprising a body provided at one end with a neck merging into a bell-shaped head; a gage at said end of the body; a valve disposed 8 between the ends of the body and under the control of an operator to regulate the passage of fluid through'the body; a gasket attached to the mouth of the-head and having an opening; a stud threaded for adjustment into the neck and projecting into the head, the stud having a passage establishing communication between the interior of the neck and the interior of the head; I a plunger projecting into the opening in 95 the gas et; and a compression spring interposed between the plunger. and the stud.

In testimony that we claim the foregoing as our own, we have hereto aflixed our signatures in the presence of two witnesses.-

Witnesses:

FRED K. PORTER, v C. A. PORTER. 

